Fastener applicator



N. GERARD ETAL FASTENER APPLICATOR June 23, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 4. 1968 June 23, 1970 N. GERARD ETAL FASTENER APPLIGATOR 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed April 4, 1968 w R m. 8. w m v nu" /.w Z 7. (n K? a) \Wk 1 4 4 6 1 3 .L Am T A C I Du mm RR Em Gm .5 M

Jdne 23, 1970 Filed Ap ril 4. 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 6 6, MBVEM INVEA/TDRS GERRRD NOR HRMD HlonEz. 3001:)

United States Patent Office 3,516,144 Patented June 23, 1970 Int. Cl. B23p 11/00 19/04; B23q 7/10 US. Cl. 29-24357 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fastener applicator for applying fasteners having hooked shaped ends at one end and bowed portions at the other end to elastic cord and comprising a carrier arranged to receive the fasteners one at a time from a loader and to convey the fastener along a guide to engage the cord in the bowed end and thereafter to engage the fastener with an anvil to close the fastener around the cord.

The present invention relates to a fastener applicator which can apply hooked fasteners on cord, tape or the like, particularly flexible cord having the name Sandows (rubber springs).

It is known that such flexible cord is used in the making of furniture such as chairs or beds and that for this purpose fasteners are attached to them, said fasteners having, at one end, a hooked portion intended for en gagement in a hole or ring in the framework of the piece of furniture and, at the other end, a loop which encloses the cord. It is with this latter operation that the fastener applicator is concerned.

According to the invention there is provided a fastener applicator for applying fasteners having hook-shaped ends to cord, tape or the like comprising: means defining a guide, carrier means arranged to travel along said guide between a rest position and an application position, motive means for moving said carrier along said guide, a loader arranged to supply and feed fasteners in succession to said carrier in said rest position, said fasteners having bowed portions opposite said hook-shaped ends, means defining an anvil surface at said application position of said guide, means in front of said anvil defining a channel adapted to receive said cord and a retractable support in said channel adapted to hold said cord opposite the opening to said bowed portion of the fasteners as the approach the anvil, said carrier being arranged successively to receive a said fastener from said loader, to convey it towards said anvil, to retract said movable support, upon approaching said anvil, to bring the said cord into the bowed portion of the fastener and thereafter to engage said bowed portion with said anvil to close said bowed portion around said cord.

In general terms, the fastener applicator includes a guide through which a carrier can run, arranged so as to advance a fastener over a supply provided by a loader and to bring said fastener, with its loop or bowed portion directed forward, towards an anvil provided in the guide, the

latter having also in front of the anvil a channel designed for receiving the cord on which the fastener is to be ap plied. This channel contains a movable support which serves to hold the cord opposite the opening between the bowed and hooked portions of the fastener, and the carrier is arranged, on the one hand, to retract the support and, on the other hand, to bring the cord into the bowed portion of the fastener when it moves nearer to the anvil.

The loader of the fastener applicator is advantageously fitted with a magazine which can receive rows of coupled fasteners which can be introduced into the so-called loader by simply drawing back the push piece of the loader.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is hereafter more particularly described with reference to the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of a fastener in accordance with the invention, before said fastener is applied,

FIG. 2 is a similar view to FIG. 1, but shows the fastener after it is applied on the cord,

FIG. 3 is a view in elevation of a fastener applicator according to the invention,

FIG. 4 is a partial section along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a section along the line VV of FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 is a partial section along the line VI-VI of FIG. 4,

FIG. 7 is a section along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6, and

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the gate of the loader.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fastener 1, which can be made of wire of any desired section, has essentially a rectilinear central portion 1a flanked by a loop or bowed portion 1b preferably circular, extending over somewhat more than half of the circumference (for example, about 210) and by a hook-shaped portion 10 the end of which forms an acute angle (of the order of -60", for example) with the central portion.

After application, the bowed portion 1b encloses a cord 2, for example, a flexible cord of the type called rubber spring, as shown in FIG. 2, the hooked portion 10 being introduced, for example, into a hole 3a in the support 3 such as a metal tube which forms part of the framework of a seat, bed or the like.

Before application, the opening of the bowed portion 112 and the distance which separates the ends of the bowed and hooked portions must be suflicient to admit the cord, although a slight flexible deformation of the latter might be needed. The fasteners are provided in known fashion, coupled together to form a kind of grille which can be 'seen in FIG. 7 and, for this purpose, the bowed and hooked portions are preferably located in the same plane which is that of the drawing.

The fastener applicator comprises essentially a motor device which can be of any desired type, but preferably of the type described in French Pat. No. 1,388,788 dated Nov. 29, 1963 of the applicant company. This motor device is enclosed in a housing 4 and will not be described any further. If it is operated by compressed fluid, it can be fed by a nozzle 5 (FIG. 3). Its essential aim is to impart a reciprocating movement to a fastener carrier 6 which runs along an extended guide 7 mounted on the end of the housing by means of screws 4a.

The encased guide 7 is essentially U-shaped in section and is closed by a cover 8.

The cover 8 has a lateral opening into which is inserted the end of a loader 10 joined to a loader-carrying plate 11 which is attached to the cover by means of screws 12 (FIGS. 3, 4- and 5). This loader will be subsequently described in detail.

Before the fastener is applied, the carrier 6 occupies the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, that is to say, it is stopped opposite the loader 10. At its end it comprises a flat seating 13 for receiving the fastener shown, in which seating there is provided a projection 14 drawn towards the loader by a spring 15 which is held by a cover 16 in an appropriate hole in the carrier. As shown in FIG. 6, the object of this projection is to keep the fastener 1 in positron in the seating 13. The depth of the said seating is equal to the thickness of the fastener (FIG. 7).

On the interior face of the seating 13', there is provided a ramp 17, which is first inclined then curved (FIGS. 6 and 7) and, as will be seen, is intended to bring the cord 2 lnto a position for fastening. This ramp is approximately tangential to the central portion of the fastener, when the latter is in position in its seating 13. It passes exactly under the hooked portion 1a to be joined again to the bowed portion 1b.

On the side opposite the seating 13, the ramp 17 is flanked by a releasing or disengaging means 18 (FIGS. 4 and 7). An anvil 20, which is fixed to the base of the guide 7 by gudgeons 21 (FIG. 4), co-operates with the carrier 6.

Facing the portion of the seating 13 of the carrier in Which the bowed portion of the fastener is located, the anvil has an inclined receiving or cam surface 22 intended for folding the bowed portion over the cord 2. Above the cam surface 22, there is provided a releasing means 23 which permits passage of the hooked portion of the fastener as well as the upper part of the carrier and, below, there is another disengaging means 24 which serves to admit the lower part of the carrier, thereby making it possible to fold the bowed portion of the fastener.

For the purpose of applying the fastener, the cord 2 1s positioned in an inclined channel 25 which has a splayed opening and is arranged in the guide 7 and the cover 8, and its base leads precisely in front of the cam surface 22 of the anvil.

Before the fastener is applied, the cord is checked by the slanting face of a stop 26 located in a channel 27 of the guide 7 and drawn back by a spring 28 towards a stop 29 provided in the said guide (FIG. 4). This stop is intended to be retracted in front of a stop 30 of the carrier 6 to allow the cord 2 to reach the bottom of the channel 25, when the fastener is applied. As long as it is not retracted, the cord 2 is held opposite the opening of the fastener 1.

The device just described is simple to operate; when moving towards the anvil, the carrier brings the fastener 1 out of the seating 13 where it is held by the projection 14. Its stop 30 makes the stop 26 move back, while the ramp 17 guides the cord 2 at the base of the channel 25 into the bowed portion of the fastener which the cam surface 22 then closes again over the said cord.

When the carrier moves back towards the housing 4, the projection 14 releases the fastener which is still attached to the cord 2 and can be removed with the latter with as much ease as when the stop 26 lifts the cord into the channel 25 (Fl-G. 6).

The loader has in conventional fashion a tubular body 10 attached to the plate 11 and projecting over the latter towards the fastener applicator, by the thickness of the cover 8 at the most. This tubular body is much longer than the composite bar formed by the coupled fasteners and contains a push piece 31 guided by a central shank 32 which is fixed to a protruding plate 33 soldered to its free end.

The push piece can be manoeuvred by means of a lateral lever handle 34 which runs along a slot 35 in the body '10. When empty, it is stopped by a projection 36 which abuts against the plate 11 (FIG. 4).

The tubular body 10 is open at its upper portion and directed upwards in alignment with a lateral channel 37 which forms a magazine of fasteners, said magazine being moreover joined in the vicinity of its free end by a prop 38 to the housing 4 of the fastener applicator (FIG. 3). This magazine has a flat =C-shaped section in order to have wings 39 for retaining the fasteners 1 in bar formation. These wings spread out at the free end of the magazine so as to facilitate insertion of the coupled fasteners.

The latter are supported by gravity on the fastener which is in the course of being applied, and on the push piece 31 (FIG. 4). When the coupled fasteners being applied are used, it is suflicient to draw back the push piece far enough towards the free end of the tubular body 10 to allow the next fasteners in grille formation to fall by gravity into the tubular body in front of the push piece. When the latter is returned towards the carrier 6, it draws the said fasteners towards the fastener applicator and puts them into operation.

On its lower portion the magazine 37 has a gate 40 which permits access to the loader, for example, in the event of it being damaged. This gate is linked via an axle 41 by means of a sliding hinge comprising a hinge 42 connected to the gate and two others 43, 44 connected to the magazine (FIGS. 3 and 8). The hinges 42, 43 comprise corresponding catches 42a, 43a which can hold the gate open in opposition to a spring 45 threaded round the axle 41. In order to close the gate, it is suificient to push it back in opposition to the spring to disengage the catches 42a, 43a in the direction of the arrow 1. When these catches are disengaged, the spring 45 tends to close the gate.

It is evident that modifications of the embodiments just described can be obtained, particularly by substituting equivalent technical means, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

What we claim is:

1. A fastener applicator for applying fasteners having hook-shaped ends to cord, tape or the like comprising:

means defining a guide,

carrier means arranged to travel along said guide between a rest position and an application position and having means thereon for holding a fastener, motive means for moving said carrier along said guide,

a loader arranged to supply and feed fasteners in succession to said carrier in said rest position, said fasteners having bowed portions opposite said hookshaped ends,

means defining an anvil at said application position of said guide, means in front of said anvil defining a channel adapted to receive said cord and a retractable support in said channel adapted to hold said cord opposite the opening to said bowed portion of the fasteners as they approach the anvil,

said carrier being arranged successively to receive a said fastener from said loader, to convey it towards said anvil, to retract said movable support, upon approaching said anvil, to bring the said cord into the bowed portion of the fastener and thereafter to engage said bowed portion with said anvil to close said bowed portion around said cord.

2. A fastener applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the channel for receiving the cord is inclined obliquely towards the anvil and the movable support is formed by a stop running through the guide and having a support surface for the cord approximately perpendicular to the direction of the channel.

3. A fastener applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the holding means on the carrier has a seating for receiving a fastener from the loader, said seating being fitted with a projection which can be flexibly retracted and can hold the said fastener in position.

the said loader comprises a magazine adapted to receive 5 said fasteners in the form of a composite bar.

6. A fastener applicator as claimed in claim 5 wherein the loader comprises a push piece and the fasteners are supported on one another and are arranged to be intoduced into the loader by drawing back the push piece, 10

when the said loader is empty.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1959 Hill 29-44357 6/1967 Tipper 29-44157 OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner G. F. GRAFEL, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 29208, 211 

